Overview

Kaylene Peoples is a singer and flutist. She performs jazz classics, straight-ahead, and jazz-fusion with her all-star traditional acoustic jazz quintet. Her show is very sophisticated and caters to jazz lovers.

Reviews

Booking Info

What to Expect

Kaylene Peoples has already made a huge impression on the listening and concertgoing
jazz community. As a regular headliner at the famed Baked Potato in Studio City
(deemed the serious musician’s venue) and the renown Catalina Bar & Grill on Sunset
Blvd. in Hollywood, she performs in concert with a rotating cast of A-list musicians.
Her music is titillating! After tunes like “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” “Take Five,” or “Night
Streets”(a song that features Kaylene playing flute on Bunny Brunel’s latest CD Invent
Your Future), she blows everyone away with comfort and ease. Kaylene sneaks in fusion-like
riffs, and even scats simultaneously in unison with her players during her sets. She
makes it all look so easy, never missing a beat all the while possessing a magnetic quality
that keeps her audiences hanging on every note. “Kaylene Peoples is like a [ James] Bond
girl. You just can’t to take your eyes off of her!” Exclaims a fan.

Kaylene takes her audiences on so many rides, while she climbs vocally 5 octaves at
times. She then goes low, dipping into a husky contralto that is so haunting it will make
your hair stand on end. She successfully pulls off these impressive techniques all while
making it look so easy—it hynotizes—it commands. The result . . . encores and ovations!
She is as good live as she is recorded.

“Kaylene Peoples skillfully played Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five’ and showed off her
versatility by scatting. On ‘How Deep Is the Ocean,’ her thick, sensual tone went to the
depths of my soul. Her rendition of Chick Corea’s ‘Spain’ is impressive, as she sings this
song with a punctuated, yet lyrical voice; and her flute solo on ‘How Insensitive’ had a
haunting quality, while she still maintained her groove . . . a groove that reminded me
of the gorgeous playing of flautist Yuseff Lateef.”— Sheryl Aronson, Hollywood Times
(Concert Review)

Kaylene Peoples performs regularly with bassist Bunny Brunel, and has performed with
Stanley Clarke, Virgil Donati, Larry Dunn, Jeff Goldblum, John Beasley, Patrice
Rushen, Bobby Lyle, Tom Brechtlein, and Hubert Laws, just to name a few—hers is a
mutual sharing and a creative, collaborative process where each virtuoso complements
the music as she gives them the freedom to paint on her canvas.

“Performing jazz is a spontaneous form of expression for me, escpecially when I see the
crowd literally reacting to my every nuance. I performed with Stanley Clarke and we
were doing ‘My Funny Valentine.’ He played a solo with just a few notes. It made such
an impact. That’s when I realized it’s not about how many notes you play, it’s all about
what you are trying to communicate. Sending a message that resonates with my fans is
what’s most important to me.” — Kaylene Peoples

About

Kaylene Peoples is what you call a quadruple threat. She was a runway model and a former Miss California; she is a vocalist with a rare 5-octave range, a multi-instrumentalist, and a prolific composer/arranger/conductor. Kaylene graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Composition and Ethnomusicology, and completed an elite Masters program in Film Scoring under the direction of Academy Award-winner composer Walter Scharf. She also studied with Academy Award-winner composers David Raksin and Henry Mancini; and has even played piano side by side with Oscar winner film composer Jerry Goldsmith. Kaylene has written and conducted countless string arrangements for record labels, including Capitol Records, Polygram, Warner Bros., EMI, and Universal/Republic. Her dossier doesn’t just stop there. She has written huge bodies of musical works including neo-classical symphonies and composed and conducted a ten-Act ballet titled Apocalitica. Her orchestration skills can be heard on several movie sound tracks, including American Pie 2, Serendipity, Ruby, and her own multi-award-winning feature film she directed, Redemption. She is also an award-winning L.A. Music Awards producer for Best R&B Album of the Year and Best New Artist Christina Fasano’s Spiritually Wet.

“Kaylene is in a small group of unique artists whose skill set includes writing, arranging, orchestrating, as well as performing as a flutist and vocalist. She puts those skills to good use on My Man. The warmth, sincerity and verve with which she approached her vocals and instrumentals on challenging tunes such as “Giant Steps” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk” makes this a must-hear project.” – Emmy-nominated Pianist/Organist Bobby Lyle

Kaylene’s first jazz CD All Jazzed Up! made a splash across the nation when her single, “Do You Remember,” was played across the country. The single climbed to the top of the independent charts (AC40/NMW! Top 100 Chart/FMQB & ACQB! and Indie 100 chart). Her newest CD My Man has made quite an impression on jazz lovers through the airwaves and in concert. Since the release of My Man, Kaylene has repeatedly hit #1 on the Reverbnation Jazz Charts, and remains in the Top 40; and from My Man, “Giant Steps” won Best Jazz Song for the Akademia Music Awards in December 2015, and was on the ballot for the Grammy’s that same year.

“Kaylene Peoples has the voice of an angel!” – 3-time Grammy-nominated Flutist Hubert Laws
Whenever Kaylene Peoples performs, she showcases instrumental virtuosity along with her trademarked, vocal style. Kaylene takes singing to a completely new level; and when hearing her play her flute, Dave Valentine and Hubert Laws immediately come to mind. Growing up, her parents supported her love affair with music, and to this day she performs with the rare solid silver flute her dad bought her after winning a talent show in high school. As a result, Kaylene’s soloing instrument of choice is the flute. In honor of her father’s memory, she incorporates it heavily into her music. Having performed with 3-time Grammy-nominee flutist Hubert Laws, Emmy-nominee pianist Bobby Lyle, 4-time Grammy winner bassist Stanley Clarke, Patrice Rushen, Grammy winner pianist John Beasley, Jeff Goldblum, Grammy-nominee bassist Bunny Brunel, and others, Kaylene Peoples continues to blow her audiences away with her incredible vocal performances and equally impressive instrumental virtuosity.

“. . . the best flute sound I’ve ever heard. I was amazed by the sound of her voice and flute. She is just as great as the iconic jazz singers who helped set the bar for jazz vocal performance!” – Grammy-nominated Bassist Bunny Brunel
So, whom does Kaylene sing like? Since she applies techniques from jazz greats to her own well-defined vocal style, you might hear Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nancy Wilson, or even a little bit of Barbra Streisand and Al Jarreau thrown in the mix. Kaylene Peoples is the ultimate performer, creating jazz lovers wherever she goes. Versatility, vocal talent, unique style! With one listen, you’ll not only become a Kaylene Peoples fan. You, too, will find yourself All Jazzed Up!

“Both my wife Luisa and I have been so blessed to work with the super talented and beautiful Kaylene Peoples. Kaylene is absolutely a class A flutist, vocalist, composer; not to mention her amazing writing & arranging skills . . . a serious musical force to be reckoned with! To top it all off when working with Ms. Peoples there’s always an abundance of laughter, love and GREAT music!!! We have been listening to two of her projects My Man & Carol of the Bells. Both are wonderful musical spectacles featuring some of the finest musicians on planet earth. Kaylene also appears on the new release from Bunny Brunel and Stanley Clarke entitled (Bass Ball), another MUST HAVE. God bless you Kaylene keep on keeping on we love you much!!!” – Multi-Grammy-winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Larry Dunn (Earth Wind & Fire)

Services Offered

Set List

1. How Deep Is the Ocean
2. Once I Loved
3. Take Five
4. Spain
5. Nature Boy
6. Lullaby of Bird Land
7. Stormy Weather
8. One Note Samba
9. Blue Rondo A la Turk
10. All or Nothing at All
11. Funny Valentine
12. Once I Loved
13. Girl from Ipanema
14. Berimbau
15. How Insensitive
16. Giant Steps
17. Cheek to Cheek
And more in that vein depending on the occasion.